Haunted House
by MangaFreak15
Summary: AU: Roronoa Zoro and his cousin Kuina have moved into a new house, only to discover that it is, in fact, inhabited by a pair of ghosts named the D. brothers, Ace and Luffy.
1. Ch 1: House on the Hill

**Well, here we go again. Same old routine, I get a story idea and write it out, only to slam into hiatus a few months or chapters later. Let's see what'll happen this time. Wanton Faith is still being slowly written.**

**Summary – **AU: Roronoa Zoro and his cousin Kuina have just moved into a new house, only to discover that it is, in fact, inhabited by a pair of ghosts named the D-brothers, Ace and Luffy.

**Notes: No pairings, just some good ol' mystery solving (i.e. why the ghosts are haunting the house and can't move on to the afterlife).**

* * *

**Haunted House**

**Ch. 1**

**House on the Hill**

* * *

A tall young woman with short-cut black-blue hair sat in the shotgun seat of a dark-green car, quietly reading a large, leather-bound volume of a popular kendo series. Once in a while her dark-blue eyes darted up from the hypnotic words typed across the pages in order to get a grip on her outdoor surroundings. She also glanced at the driver of the car, a grumpy-looking young man with short green hair. Her name was Kuina. She was the heir to one of the last dojos still standing in Loguetown. The driver's name was Roronoa Zoro. He was Kuina's cousin.

Often in the past Zoro had grumbled about living in such a small apartment (they shared had a small flat they rented with their job money). Kuina had finally gotten fed up with him and went and bought a bigger house that was a little ways away from the city. It was far enough that they would not be disturbed by the daily comings and goings of the bustling city, but close enough that they could drive to the city in about fifteen minutes.

Kuina tucked a plain black bookmark between the pages of the book, closing it with a soft snap. She could already see the house from where they were.

A few minutes later the car pulled into the driveway. Zoro turned off the ignition and opened the door to let himself out. Kuina stepped out and shaded her eyes from the sun as she drank in the sight of their new living space.

It was a decent size, but since it had been unoccupied for a long time, there were a lot of things that they had needed to do to make it adequate enough to live in. The house had been painted a soft baby-blue, with a white doorway and window sills. The small porch in the front was made of solid oak that had been varnished. The glass windows reflected the outdoors well, but also gave a small hint as to what was inside. Up further were two separate balconies, each the size of four teachers' desks. There was a small greenhouse to the left. Inside was bare of plants, but many clay pots and other gardening things had been placed inside. A huge tree sprouted up from the ground on the right. Some of its branches reached over the gray-shingled roof.

_Thud!_

Zoro placed their trunks on the smooth dirt before shutting the trunk of the car. He dug into his pockets for the keys to the front door.

When he found it, he inserted it into the lock on the door and twisted the knob to open it. He took the key out and dropped it back into his pocket before turning around to help Kuina get the trunks into the house.

"Zoro, I want one of the balcony rooms," Kuina immediately claimed as she ran upstairs to take a look.

Zoro just lazily waved his hand as he took a good look at the inside of the house.

* * *

Elsewhere a childish voice, presumably belonging to a teenage boy, spoke up.

"We have visitors again."

"Finally! How long's it been since someone moved here?"

"Nii-chan, didn't you hear the people that renovated the house?"

"You actually know what the word renovated means?"

"Hey! I'm not that stupid."

"In any case, these guys better not move out once they see us, 'cause I'm getting so sick of people screaming when they see us and going away."

"How long has it been since we've had visitors?"

"Dunno, at least a hundred years. Pretty boring, if you ask me."

"Let's say hi!"

"Not yet, Luffy-chan. Not yet."

"Don't call me that!"

"I can call you whatever I damn want!"

"Nii-chan . . ."

* * *

Zoro finally finished unpacking his meager belongings and was lying on the bed, staring drowsily up at the ceiling. According to Kuina, when she'd ironed out the details of their move and which house, she found out some strange information about the past occupants.

The house was actually first built about four-hundred years ago, which was quite remarkable considering how it had been still standing when they had first saw it. But Franky, the master carpenter, had repaired the place well. Its first occupants were a man, his housekeeper, and his two adopted sons. The man was "Red-haired" Shanks, a master swordsman who was somewhat of an idol to Zoro because of his graceful sword style. His housekeeper was a kind woman named Makino. And the "D-brothers", Ace and Luffy, were the sons.

They'd lived there for a good while until a notorious underground drug dealer named Crocodile kidnapped one of the sons and threatened to kill him if Shanks didn't pay a hefty sum of money. The other brother went crazy with rage and tried to take down Crocodile and his evil organization on his own, but ended up getting stabbed by Crocodile's hook-like appendage. Shanks arrived to help him and they both took down the organization. The kidnapped brother was safe, but since the other brother had gone for a long time without treating his wound properly, not to mention that Crocodile's hook had poison in it, he died a few hours later. The family was devastated, especially the first son. The funeral had been short and quiet. The first son struggled to live on without his brother, but found it too hard to do so. He committed suicide by killing himself with one of the kitchen knives. Shanks, having lost both of his sons within two months, moved out of the house. He and Makino went to live in the city again, where they eventually died of old age.

A small family consisting of a single mother and three children moved into the house almost ten years after Shanks had moved out. But for some reason she moved right back out not even four days later. Apparently the house was haunted by the two brothers. This happened again and again and again. Every single person who moved into the house would leave within ten days because of the ghosts. It was last occupied almost a hundred years ago, so it was a miracle the house had still been standing.

Zoro snorted and let his eyes drift close. What a bunch of bullcrap. Ghosts didn't exist.

* * *

When he awoke, the sun was almost touching the horizon. The sky was awash with the brilliant merging of bright yellow, orange, red, magenta, purple and blue hues. Yawning widely, he rolled out of bed, shaking his head to wake himself more.

Zoro walked downstairs and found Kuina curled up on the couch, reading her book. She looked up as he entered, giving a small smile. "This house is nice," she said. "And I don't see any ghosts."

Zoro nodded. He glanced towards the backdoor that led to the backyard. Kuina understood that since the brothers had been buried there, they should both pay the graves a visit as a respect to the dead. She shut her book and placed it on the small coffee table in front of her. Zoro opened the cupboard where he had put the incense sticks and pulled them out, along with a box of matches.

They walked outside from the backdoor and saw the two graves, side by side, a few meters away. Zoro lit the incense sticks and placed them in front of the graves, kneeling and closing his eyes as he said a prayer to the dead. Kuina did the same, but she silently apologized for intruding the house.

After a few minutes they headed back inside, leaving the incense to burn sweetly in front of the graves.

The two ghosts watched them from an upstairs window.

"They burned incense for us."

"No one else has ever done that. They respected us too!"

"These people aren't too bad. Maybe luck will be on our side now."

"I hope so. I don't want to be lonely anymore. Even though Nii-chan is with me, I want to talk to other people too!"

"Well, as ghosts, it's quite hard isn't it?"

"Come on, Nii-chan. Let's introduce ourselves now."

"Patience, Luffy-chan. Let's wait until tomorrow."

"Aww . . . I told you not to call me that!"

* * *

**Yes, chapter one is a bit on the short side, but it's mostly just to give background information and set the mood for the rest of the story. I hope I didn't make Zoro too OOC or anything, because respecting the dead is something I would imagine him doing.**

**Nii-chan means "older brother".**

**Please give me a review or good constructive criticism. I don't like flames.**

**MangaFreak15**


	2. Ch 2: Brothers of the Hill

**Chapter Two is here. Please give me some good feedback.**

**Summary – **AU: Roronoa Zoro and his cousin Kuina have just moved into a new house, only to discover that it is, in fact, inhabited by a pair of ghosts named the D. brothers, Ace and Luffy.

**Notes: No pairings, just some good ol' mystery solving (i.e. why the ghosts are haunting the mansion and can't move on to the afterlife). Also, since Kuina owns Wadou Ichimonji, Zoro's swords will be Sandai Kitetsu, Yubashiri, and Shuusui.**

* * *

**Haunted House**

**Ch. 2**

**Brothers of the Hill**

* * *

Dawn broke out in soft shades of pink, red and purple the next morning. Roronoa Zoro awakened from his sleep when the sun blazed through his window and covered him with its golden light. He groaned at the sudden brightness and rolled over to the darker side, still feeling a little heat hit the back of his neck.

His room door burst open and Kuina came in.

"Oi! Zoro! Get your ass in gear! We're going to spar," she shouted at her cousin, who merely eyed her sleepily with one eye before burying himself under the covers and groaning. He did not want to get up right now.

"Hey! Don't ignore me."

"Sleep," Zoro grunted.

Kuina rolled her eyes. She strode over to his bed and forcefully yanked the covers off. Zoro's eyes shot open wide and he let out an indignant squawk as the chilly morning air hit him full blast. He glared at his cousin.

"Damn it, Kuina," he grumbled, reluctantly rolling off the bed and setting his feet to the floor. "Did you have to do it that way?"

"If I hadn't you would've just gone right back to sleep."

Zoro yawned widely and walked over to his closet, dismissing her with a careless wave of his hand. "I'll meet you in the front," she said, walking out the door and closing it behind her.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he mumbled, shifting through his clothes.

He changed into a plain white shirt and a pair of black pants with pockets. He grabbed his three swords from where they rested against the wall. He took a green haramaki sash that was folded on a shelf and tied it around his waist. He secured his three swords into the hold on his right hip before walking out the door.

Kuina was waiting for him with her sword in her right hand. The blade's white scabbard had been discarded at the base of the giant tree. Zoro unsheathed his swords, putting Sandai Kitetsu into his mouth and Yubashiri and Shuusui in both his hands.

"Just make sure you don't accidentally kill me," Kuina muttered, shifting into position. "You ready?"

"If you are."

From the balcony outside Zoro's room, the D. brothers watched in fascination as the house's two new occupants moved in a deadly dance, their swords clashing, and the steel blades singing as they ricocheted off each other. Zoro's strong physique and quick slashes were parried by Kuina's agile movements and speedy strikes.

"Wow," Luffy breathed, his eyes sparkling. "They're so cool!"

"Aye," Ace agreed. He did have to admit, they were pretty good.

"Can we meet them soon? Please, Ace?" Luffy whined.

Ace sighed. "Fine, fine, we can meet them after breakfast."

Luffy grinned. "Yosh! They are my new friends!" he cheered.

Ace sweatdropped. "Luffy . . . you're supposed to say that _after_ you meet them . . ."

Luffy ignored him.

The wind rustled, bringing a fresh wave of chilling breath with it. The two sparring cousins paid no attention to it, so focused were they on their practice. Zoro paused and crossed his arms, whispering to himself, _"Oni . . ."_

Kuina immediately knew what was coming, for she gripped Wadou's hilt with both hands and raised the blade perpendicular to her nose.

Zoro flashed forward, his swords moving in a slicing motion, _". . . Giri!"_

Kuina dropped on one knee and spun around, her blade arching into a wide slice and slamming into Yubashiri's edge. Zoro was knocked off balance by her move, but he quickly regained his footing. He brought Shuusui around, mimicking a center strike.

Kuina brought Wadou up and blocked it. She twisted her body and performed an upwards kick. Zoro craned his neck back to avoid the blow. He locked Shuusui and Yubashiri around Kuina's throat in an X-shape. Kuina had the tip of her katana a millimeter away from Zoro's jugular vein.

Zoro faintly thought he heard the sound of clapping in the background, but when he turned his attention to the house, there was no one there. Kuina dropped her swords and pushed her cousin's swords away from her tender throat.

"I guess we're still pretty even," she said, walking over to the tree to pick up her scabbard.

"Mm," Zoro grunted. He sheathed his swords and headed back into the house for a nice, warm morning shower. Kuina followed soon after. They were both still acutely unaware of the ghostly presences that silently vanished from the balcony above.

After his shower, Zoro went to the kitchen to eat breakfast. He found Kuina on the phone, speaking softly to the person on the other line.

"– yes, we'll come tomorrow. It's the junior testing and we're supervising, right? No, we don't have school on Monday, we get the week off –"

Zoro seated himself at the table where a rice bowl and a dish of omelets and radish sat, nice and hot, along with a cool glass of water. No doubt freshly cooked by Kuina.

_She's probably talking to her dad,_ he thought absently, taking his pair of chopsticks and dipping into the omelets.

"Very well. See you tomorrow, Otousan."

She hung up and turned to the table. "We're going to the dojo tomorrow, Zoro," she said. "The juniors are testing tomorrow."

"I heard," Zoro said, scooping a load of rice into his mouth.

Kuina sat at the table and began to eat, chewing thoughtfully. "I haven't seen the ghosts that are rumored to haunt this place yet," she said, looking to her cousin. "Do you suppose the guy was lying?"

Zoro snorted. "I'd bet he was lying right through his ratty little teeth, the fucking bastard," he said, downing his glass of water in a gulp.

Kuina scowled at him. "Don't use such a vulgar tone, Zoro," she warned. "I hate it when you swear."

"You swear too," Zoro retorted.

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-huh."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-huh."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-huh."

"No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do. I've heard you cursing at the broom shed because you kicked it on accident and hurt your foot."

Kuina flushed pink. "You saw that?" she muttered, fiddling with her fingers under the table.

"Yeah."

"Still!" she declared, pointing a finger at Zoro dramatically. "I don't swear on purpose."

"So you admit you swear?" Zoro smirked smugly at her.

"Oh, shut up, you," she said, swatting at him with her chopsticks.

Zoro laughed as he fended her off with his now-empty rice bowl. Then . . .

_. . . it happened._

"HI!!!!"

Kuina shrieked loudly as an unfamiliar male voice shouted a greeting next to her. Zoro's head whipped in that direction, his face showing pure incredulousness.

"Oi, Luffy," another voice joined the first. "Don't scare them like that. They could move right back out, y'know?"

"Aww, you're such a spoilsport," the first voice whined.

Kuina shot up and lifted the chair up, wide eyes fixated on the empty space. "Who's there?" she shouted. "Show yourself!"

"It's the ghosts," Zoro muttered, palming his face with his hand. Great. Now he _had_ to believe it.

Two semi-transparent figures appeared next to the table. One was a grinning young boy wearing a straw hat, a red vest, and blue shorts. The other was a smirking young man with an orange cowboy hat, a white dress shirt and black slacks with pockets.

Kuina warily lowered the chair, having been notified about this development beforehand. "So you're the ghosts named Ace and Luffy?" she asked.

"Yeah! I'm Luffy," the straw-hat boy said cheerily.

"And I'm Ace," the older man said lazily. "If you would please do us a favor and _not_ move out of this house, we'd really appreciate it. I got really sick of people seeing us and running away like bloody cowards."

"And it's been a lot of years since we last talked to anybody 'cept each other," Luffy said.

"We already know your story," Zoro said, polishing off the remains of his breakfast. "Some guy named Crocodile kidnapped Ace, and then killed you and Ace performed suicide."

Ace and Luffy shared a look of disbelief.

"Where did you hear _that?"_ Ace asked, his eyebrow twitching.

"It was in the historical information file about this house," Kuina replied. "Isn't it true?"

"Hell no!" Ace and Luffy shouted together.

"That's a complete bullcrap story the mayor sprouted so that our _real_ story didn't scare the batshit out of the townspeople wanting to move in here," Ace said bitterly.

Zoro and Kuina both looked surprised. "Wait, you mean that story was fake?" Kuina exclaimed.

"That beginning part was true. We were attacked by Crocodile," Luffy said. "But Ace wasn't kidnapped. Crocodile was beaten half to death by Shanks before he could do it. I did get stabbed and poisoned, but I lived through it. The people who really killed Ace and I was a secret government organization named the CP9. Ace and I faced off against the leader, a super assassin named Rob Lucci, while Shanks dealt with the others."

"The first time they attacked us, Luffy was kidnapped, not me," Ace said, picking up from where his brother left off. "Dad liked both of us, but no one had any doubts that Luffy was his favorite. The CP9 knew this, that's why they kidnapped him. The government has a grudge against Shanks for a rebellion he started years ago on the Sabaody Archipelago."

Zoro and Kuina both noticed that the brothers' faces had both become grim. Luffy was clenching his fists so hard, if he wasn't a ghost, Zoro was sure that he'd be bleeding right now. Ace's hat didn't shadow his eyes, but when he tilted his head down, it seemed to give it the same effect.

"Luffy . . ." Ace growled, his voice shaking a little, ". . . was tortured."

* * *

**And that's it for now. The mighty cliffhanger has come into play. I'm (not) sorry. XD**

**I know that in the manga, all the villains and government officials Luffy faces are all from the same era as Luffy. But in this story, the villains and government officials live in different eras. I've got my notes down in a separate document file. I've planned out this whole story's skeletal frame; I'll probably tweak a few things here and there. Please review, but keep in mind what I say about flames.**

**Oni Giri - means "Demon Slash"**

**Otousan - means "father"**

**MangaFreak15**


	3. Ch 3: Nightmare of the Hill

**Chapter Three has come. I appreciate your reviews.**

**Summary – **AU: Roronoa Zoro and his cousin Kuina have just moved into a new house, only to discover that it is, in fact, inhabited by a pair of ghosts named the D. brothers, Ace and Luffy.

**Notes: No pairings, just some good ol' mystery solving (i.e. why the ghosts are haunting the mansion and can't move on to the afterlife). Also, since Kuina owns Wadou Ichimonji, Zoro's swords will be Sandai Kitetsu, Yubashiri, and Shuusui.**

**Warning: Luffy torture in this chapter!**

* * *

**Haunted House**

**Ch. 3**

**Nightmare of the Hill**

* * *

He awoke in a dimly lit room that chilled him terribly. The thin clothes covering his skinny frame didn't warm him in the slightest, as a chilly draft swept through the cold stone corridors and seeped into his skin. His wrists were chained to the wall his back was pressed against with thick iron cuffs. He leaned forward, tugging resolutely on the cuffs, but they didn't budge a bit. He cursed angrily and leaned his head against the wall. What a time to be locked up.

Footsteps echoed quietly in the hall outside, but to the prisoner, the steps were like sharp thunder. The wooden door at the end of the room creaked open loudly, its hinges protesting as it swung open with a weak whine of protest. The imprisoned person focused his hard gaze on his stolid captor. The man walked over to the prison cell and sneered down at him through the bars. The prisoner glared back.

"What do you want with me?" he asked, struggling against his chains.

"I'm sure you already have a grasp on the situation, _Monkey D. Luffy_," the man said.

The prisoner ceased struggling when his captor mentioned his whole name. His eyes narrowed dangerously, though he wasn't quite as dangerous being as roughed up and chained to a wall as he was. Not many people knew his real name, due to his adoption by Shanks. He didn't want people to know his surname. It gave away his lineage. The dirty blood that coursed through his veins was a curse sometimes, though he foolishly acted cheerful and attempted to erase it. He and Ace weren't true brothers, but they were close enough and looked similar enough that they were easily mistaken as real brothers. Ace had an unwanted lineage as well. When they'd been adopted by Shanks, they'd erased their surnames from the forefront of their minds and never spoke of it to anyone except people they really trusted. Shanks, Makino, and their friends were the only people who _should_ have known their real names. So how did this man . . . know?

"Who are you?" he asked, the hard glint in his dark eyes sharpening with irritation. "How did you get my full name?"

"Rob Lucci," the other man replied. "There is no information in the world that can be kept a secret from the CP9 if we wish to know it."

"Bullshit. You probably tortured it out of someone," Luffy spat.

Instead of replying, the other man unlocked the cell door and came in. He reached down and grabbed the front of Luffy's red sleeveless shirt. "Listen up," he hissed in a menacing tone. "You're a hostage. We needed information and bait. You're a worm on a hook and I'm the fish that eats you. Got it?"

Luffy just smirked and spat at the man's face. Enraged by the disrespectful action, Lucci slammed the boy's head into the stone wall hard enough to create a small crater in the wall. But the boy just went on smiling. When blood trickled down from the small scrape he had near his temple, it just made him look demonic.

Disgusted, Lucci threw the boy to the ground. The chains yanked harshly on Luffy's wrists, making him jerk to an unexpected halt on his descent to the ground and causing him to land painfully on his tailbone. Lucci then slammed the heel of his polished black shoe into the prisoner's abdomen, crushing him to the ground and feeling a few ribs crack under pressure. Luffy coughed in pain, bright-red liquid spouting from his mouth and flecking over his face.

"Vermin," Lucci growled, twisting his heel into the delicate skin, the vest having been already torn. Luffy gritted his teeth, but refused to make a sound. "Act more like a hostage! When Shanks makes his move, we're going to kill him. Then we'll kill you and that unsightly brother of yours."

Luffy's eyes flashed despite the pain he was suffering through. "If you –" he hissed through clenched teeth, "– touch even _one_ strand of hair on my brother's head –" He paused to catch his breath, as Lucci ground down harshly on him, "– I _will_ make you pay!"

"What can you do, all trussed up like that?" Lucci said. "You can't do a damn thing and you know it." The man lifted his heel off Luffy's abdomen and slammed it with resounding force into Luffy's chin, sending the boy flying into the wall he was chained to. Lucci left after hearing a satisfying loud _crack!_ as the boy hit the wall and crumpled to the floor like a flaccid doll.

Luffy winced as he attempted to sit up. His ribs hurt like crazy, but he was probably going to have worse beatings in the future. His hands were still chained to the wall, so his arms strained in pain as he pulled himself up into an acceptable position. As his head sagged forward, his bruised chin resting lightly on his chest, he fell into a fitful sleep.

He was awakened forcefully a few hours later when pain exploded through his hands. He came into consciousness with a sharp gasp, sweat beading on his brow as something sharp twisted its way through skin and muscle in his hands. He let out a hoarse cry as something heavy strapped his legs to the cold floor. The iciness seeped into him from the floor, for he was wearing blue shorts that definitely did not prevent the cold from getting to him.

"Good job, Kaku," Lucci's familiar voice slithered through his mind.

He blearily opened his eyes, sharp stabs of pain shocking him now and then. Four people were standing before him in the cell. A tall man wearing a brown cap that covered his orange hair stood near him, twirling a small hammer around. To his left was Lucci. A blonde woman wearing a ridiculously revealing outfit stood haughtily at Lucci's left side. She was carrying a clipboard. The last man was a muscular, black-haired man.

Luffy's gaze turned cautiously to his hands, which he found, much to his horror, had been nailed to the wall. Blood leaked through the wounds and trailed down the wall. A long silver nail had been hammered through each hand. Luffy grimaced, and turned away from the sight.

"You can torture me all you want, I'll never give up," he said. "I won't betray Shanks or my brother. I'd rather die."

"We can always arrange that," the buff man said. "We could always take you out in front of that red-haired bastard and slowly kill you in front of him."

Luffy hissed, "You wouldn't dare, you miserable cowards."

Kaku swiftly pulled a pocketknife from his vest and made a deep slash across Luffy's chest. "OUCH!"

Lucci stepped up, his cold eyes locking onto Luffy's determined ones. This son of Shanks would certainly be hard to break, but there was no human that was unshakeable. Shanks was mighty, but in the end his greatest weakness was the naïve boy in front of him. If they killed his most precious person person in front of him, the great man was sure to crumble and fall to ruins, leaving him wide open. Ace was probably the same way.

Blood flowed out of the fresh wound on Luffy's chest and slithered in bright-red trails down his torso. Kaku stepped closer to him and dragged the tip of the knife down Luffy's cheek. He grinned maniacally and began to slash randomly across the defenseless boy. Luffy flinched a little at the harsh sting as the cold air made contact with his new injuries. Lucci leaned in and licked the blood from his cheek.

"We'll make you break, boy," he said, licking his lips as if Luffy's blood tasted good. "Mark my words."

Luffy did not reply.

The four people walked out of the cell, closing and locking the iron door behind them. Luffy glared at their backs until they were gone. Then he forgot to compose himself and let his head sag to his chest, mindful of his injuries.

_Ace . . . Shanks . . . Makino . . ._

Five days passed before Ace made his appearance. "LUFFY!" he screamed, kicking the door down. When his eyes beheld the miserable state of his little brother, he almost went berserk with rage. "Those bastards," he muttered, quickly picking the door's lock and opening it.

Luffy's tired gaze met his as he tentatively stepped into a jail cell that virtually _reeked_ of his little brother's blood. Not to mention the dark-red liquid as smeared all over the floor, the walls, the chains and cuffs and the boy himself. Ace withheld a sob as he tugged on the chains hard enough for them to snap right off the wall. Luffy collapsed in exhaustion. Ace gathered him into his arms, slinging his brother's bloody arms around his neck. He headed out of the room.

"Ace," Luffy whispered, his unfocused gaze turning to his older brother.

"Don't worry, Luffy. We'll get you out of here. I'll make those bastards pay for what they did to you," Ace promised as he ran quietly down the corridor. Luffy smiled, burying his face into his brother's black vest and clutching his shirt with his weak, blood-stained fingers.

Ace grimaced as he skimmed over his little brother's body. With those injuries it was a miracle Luffy had still been alive. Shanks was going to go ballistic. Oh boy.

Just as they exited a staircase and were about to head down the next corridor, Lucci appeared in front of them, a snarl gracing his features. "You won't be going anywhere!" he growled, his fingers drawn back. _"Shigan!"_

Ace evaded the lightning-fast attack directed at his little brother. He caught the man's wrist with a well-placed kick and crushed it to the floor. Lucci hissed in pain, but shot to his feet and punched Ace in the cheek, sending the man flying into the nearest wall. Ace turned so that he was the one hitting the wall, not his battered little brother. They crashed with a sickening _boom!_ Ace winced as the sharp stones dug into his back.

Lucci appeared before them with another attack ready. _"Shigan!"_ Ace ducked and scrambled out of the way as Lucci's fingers met the wall and cracked it.

"Shit, this is bad," Ace muttered to himself, landing on his feet a few meters away with Luffy still clasped in his arms. "I can't fight with Luffy like this." He took off down the corridor, with Lucci hot on his heels.

At the corner there were two separate hallways branching off from the corridor. Ace slowed to a brief halt, which gave Lucci all the time he needed. With a burst of super-human speed, Lucci appeared before Ace and swung his leg, _"Rankyaku!"_

Ace instinctively leaped to the side, watching in surprise as the attack sheared through the wall like paper. The ceiling groaned. The walls trembled once, before then collapsing into a pile of rubble. The ceiling caved in and buried the two brothers under the debris. Luffy woke up due to the loud crack-and-thud noise of the collapse.

"Ace?" he murmured, feeling someone clutching him to their chest.

"Luffy, you're awake?" the muffled voice of his older brother whispered. "Well, I guess not many people could sleep through something like that."

"Where are we? What were you doing?"

"We're in one of the corridors. That guy is nuts! He made a wall fall on us," Ace explained.

"Who? Lucci?"

"Is that what his name is?"

"Black hair and beard?"

"Yep."

"That's him."

"Ah, okay."

The debris exploded. Ace leaped out, still cradling his precious little brother to his chest. Lucci was upon them in seconds. Making a split-second decision, Ace threw Luffy to the side.

"Ace!" Luffy screamed, as Lucci shoved his arm through Ace's chest.

The older brother howled in pain. Lucci withdrew his arm and let the man drop to the floor, blood gushing heavily from the gaping hole. Ace quivered on the floor, gasping and wheezing as he pressed a hand to his fatal injury. He coughed up more blood, bathing the floor where he laid a deep, dark red.

Luffy crumbled to his knees where Ace had thrown him, still in shock that Ace had made such a sacrificial move for him. He was feeling so numb that he didn't notice when Lucci approached him, his fingers fixed for an attack. But Ace noticed.

"Luffy! Run!" he yelled, struggling to his feet. The pain was agonizing! But his little brother was in danger, and as long as that was happening, a little bit of pain was nothing to worry about.

Luffy snapped out of his daze when he heard Ace's desperate voice screaming at him to run. Unfortunately he heard it a second too late.

"_Shigan!"_

"_**LUFFY!"**_

Ace fell silent, his pupils dilated and his jaw open in shock, fear and anguish as Lucci's fingers pierced through Luffy's heart. The younger froze, looking from his chest to his older brother, before his eyes dimmed and he fell backwards to the floor, unmoving. Lucci watched him fall with a satisfactory look written across his features. He lifted his fingers to his mouth and licked the blood off.

"Y-you –" Ace choked in unrestrained fury. _"YOU BASTARDS!"_

Lucci barely had time to turn around before his face met Ace's fist in a bone-cracking blow. Ace swung his leg and rammed his foot into the other man's ribs. Lucci flew into the wall, blood flowing from his split lip. Ace didn't stop there. His mind had been blinded by white-hot fury and a kind of grievous rage that completely erased all reason and restraint. Even with a hole in his chest, Ace pummeled the CP9 leader like a child beating up a rag doll. Ace was beyond help now. If the hole in his chest didn't kill him, his grief over Luffy's death certainly would. He willed the tears to go away so he could focus on the man in front of him, who had killed his precious little brother. It was his entire fault. He was going down. He was going to _pay._

With a final blow to Lucci's neck, destroying the man's vocal chords and bruising his throat, Ace punched Lucci through the wall. The man lay unconscious in the next corridor over.

Finally regaining his senses, Ace sped over to the fallen form of his little brother. He cradled the dead boy in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably over the body. "Luffy . . ." he whispered, thick trails of tears streaming down his grimy face and splashing on to the body. "Luffy . . ."

The hole in his chest, which was still leaking blood, was merely a phantom pain in the back of his mind now. Luffy's death was more shocking than receiving such a grievous injury. Ace hugged the body to his chest, uncaring of the wound. He didn't care if he was going to die. If he died here, he'd be able to be with his little brother again. _But what about Shanks and Makino?_ A voice whispered in his head. What about them? Luffy was his life, his joy, his sun . . . his _little brother_. No one else mattered.

"_Ace . . ."_

Ace's head snapped up as Luffy's voice penetrated the tense silence of the corridor. "Luffy?" he whispered tentatively, his tears drying for a second.

A transparent form materialized before him. Ace's eyes widened when he saw Luffy's familiar grin. "You beat him," the ghost said.

"Luffy –!" Ace let out a choked sob. He forced a similar grin to bloom on his face.

Luffy looked down at his body, his previously happy features dissolving into a solemn one. "I can't believe I died," he grumbled.

Ace was reminded of his own wound, which now pulsed with pain. "Luffy . . . I might be joining you soon," he said. He chuckled dryly. "Heh. Even in death, we're still brothers, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Luffy responded, taking note of Ace's fatal injury.

"You know I love you right?" Ace asked.

"Without a doubt," Luffy said, smiling. "And I love Ace too."

Ace gave him a grin before he let go, his mind finally overcome by pain. The dark abyss of death rushed up to greet him. Ace keeled over on to his side and the two brothers' bodies lay side by side, Ace's limp arms still cradling Luffy's head to his chest.

It wasn't long before Shanks and his friends came rushing into the corridor, but by then Ace's soul had left his body and the two ghosts were standing together in mid-air, just watching as Shanks grieved over them.

* * *

". . . and that's how we died," Ace finished.

Zoro and Kuina sat in their chairs, still digesting the tragic events leading up to the brothers' deaths. "So how did you guys end up back here?" Zoro asked, leaning back. He couldn't imagine being in their situation. How could he deal if he lost Kuina? That was unfathomable.

"Well, you should probably cook lunch or something, because that story of ours took a while to tell," Ace said, looking at the clock sitting on the kitchen wall.

Kuina got up and walked over to the fridge, still deep in thought.

"Remember, you guys are the only ones who know our real story," Luffy said. "It would be nice if that became the official story of the first people in this house, but you don't have to put it on record."

They agreed.

There was no need to scare the batshit out of the townspeople that would want to move here. They didn't plan on moving out any time soon anyways, so what was the point?

* * *

**And voila, chapter three is finished. I hope the scene wasn't too bad. I didn't put a lot of detail into the torture, but it's definitely still there. Please review, no flames.**

**I have a poll on my profile. Please give me a vote. The question is about whether or not I should write a One Piece x Naruto crossover. Thank you.**

**Rankyaku – Storm Leg**

**Shigan – Finger Gun**

**MangaFreak15**


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